Jeff Sessions Blames Marijuana for Contributing to Opioid Crisis

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is back to attacking one of his favorite foes: marijuana.

While speaking at the Heritage Foundation to the Regan Alumni Association, Sessions shared his views on what is contributing to the opioid epidemic.

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“The DEA said that a huge percentage of the heroin addiction starts with prescriptions. That may be an exaggerated number; they had it as high as 80 percent,” Sessions said. “We think a lot of this is starting with marijuana and other drugs too.”

Sessions did go on to say “we’ll see what the facts show.” But if you are still peddling marijuana fear mongering in 2018, are you really basing your argument on “the facts?”

WATCH: Attorney General Jeff Sessions says his goal for 2018 is to see a further decline in prescriptions of opioids, and says, "we think a lot of this is starting with marijuana and other drugs." pic.twitter.com/paWSsEuNrl

If the facts were Sessions’ true motivator, then he would likely know that CBD, a cannabinoid that does not produce the familiar psychedelic buzz closely associated with THC, has shown great potential as a possible treatment to for opioid addiction. CBD products may even be able to serve as a substitute for traditional prescription painkillers.

According to a survey conducted by the Brightfield Group and HelloMD, 42 percent of CBD users have replaced their over the counter medication or prescription painkillers with marijuana products. Overall, 80 percent of CBD users found marijuana to be “very” or “extremely” effective at reducing pain.

This is not the first time Sessions has made controversial statements on marijuana. He once said, “good people don’t smoke marijuana.” But since being appointed U.S. Attorney General, Sessions seems to really be upping the ante. Last year, Sessions linked marijuana with “more violence than one would think.” He also suggested that marijuana “only slightly less awful” than heroin and even admitted that “maybe science will prove I’m wrong.”

The country really wants something done about the opioid crisis. In fact, it dominated the campaign trail during the 2016 presidential election. According to a PBS News Hour/Maris poll, one if four Americans say someone in their family suffers from opioid addiction.

Hopefully, Sessions’ fact-finding mission concludes soon. Perhaps he will learn to embrace the potential that marijuana and CBD have to offer.